Northeast Mississippi Community College is enforcing a new policy as students begin to make their way back to campus to usher in a new school year. The college now requires students to wear their student ID cards at all times, according to a report by local TV station WTVA.

The primary reason for the new policy is to ensure the campus environment is safe, as authorities will be able to immediately identify which individuals walking around are students. Individuals neglecting to follow the procedure will be warned but will eventually be issued a $25 ticket after receiving several notices, the news source reported.

"I understand where they're coming from, the safety aspect of it, but I think they might be pushing it out of proportion a little," student Kurt Volking told WTVA. "The cost of the fine is a little too much, I believe."

NMCC administrators said the policy is meant to be proactive in an effort to deter crime in the future, instead of being reactive to any particular incident, the news provider reported. Still, the new protocol doesn't sit well with many students, partly because of the fashion faux pas associated with wearing an ID badge on a lanyard and partly because of the fine.

"College students, they have to pay a lot more," student Davorius James told WTVA. "To add this fine to it makes a whole other problem."

Other schools are taking similar initiatives. Barton County Community College in Kansas, for example, enforces a rule that states students must show authorities their ID cards when prompted. Although many people may find these policies inconvenient, they are, for the most part, meant to provide individuals with a safer learning environment.